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Portable hard drives are hardly considered glamorous pieces of equipment, but they are an important factor for businesses as well as geeks who dare venture out of their dens. The latest six-core CPU or dual-GPU graphics card could be likened to caviar, but storage is a staple, much like bread and butter. Which would you rather do without?

Today we’ll be taking a look at two Silicon Power 2.5-inch USB drives, with a completely different but equally appealing design. The 500GB Armor A10 is a ruggedized military-spec drive, which looks like it would go rather well with an A-10 close air support jet.

It’s designed to comply with U.S. military drop-test standard MIL-STD-810F 516.5 procedure IV (transit drop test), which basically means that it can fall from 1.22 meters onto a hard surface with no damage whatsoever, not even a scratch, thanks to its rubberized case.

This is pretty neat if you tend to be careless with your hardware. Also, it doesn’t cost as much as a Halliburton or KBR logistical contract. In fact, at a tad over €60 it is rather reasonably priced, and it looks like something Gadhafi would use to store his bank records. It measures 136x82.5x19.8mm and it’s not much larger than your average 2.5-inch drive.

With its stylish, brushed metal chassis, the slightly smug 640GB Armor A50 is an entirely different beast. It looks like a right-wing politician eager to send the A10 to warzone from the confines of a cozy lawmaker’s office. At 133.8x78.3x16.2mm and 200g, it’s not much smaller than the A10 and it meets the same drop-test standard. Although it doesn’t feel less sturdy, it’s clearly more prone to damage. Its finish is clearly more susceptible to scratches and damage, but it still feels like it could take a lot of damage and keep running. It sells for about €80, which isn’t bad, either.

Both drives also feature a one-touch backup function and some rudimentary data encryption. While the A10 feels somewhat more rugged thanks to its rubber chassis, it’s quite a bit more prone to fingerprints and smudges. The A50's brushed metal finish is less susceptible to hamburger fingers, but the glossy plastic on top is, well, a magnet for all sorts of dirt.